Add Category
Updated
Europe records more than 100,000 deaths and more than 1 million cases, as the number of deaths in New York begins to decline.
Meanwhile, Britain's cabinet secretary Michael Gove has labelled a Sunday Times investigation into the Government's handling of the coronavirus crisis as "grotesque" and defended Boris Johnson's response to the pandemic.
This story is being updated regularly throughout Monday. You can also stay informed with the latest episode of the Coronacast podcast.
Europe's death toll surpasses 100,000
Europe has recorded more than 100,000 deaths from the new coronavirus, according to the Johns Hopkins University [JHU] map documenting the pandemic.
The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) says the continent now has more than 1 million confirmed cases.
According to the JHU tally, Spain had the most cases in the region with 195,000, followed by Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
It listed Italy as having the most deaths in Europe, with more than 23,600, followed by Spain [20,400], France [19,700], Britain [16,000] and Belgium [5,600].
According to the ECDC tally, Europe accounts for almost half the global case load and more than half the total deaths.
New York deaths decline
New York's daily toll of coronavirus deaths has hit its lowest point in more than two weeks, but officials warn that New York City and the rest of the state aren't ready to ease up on shutdowns of schools, businesses and gatherings.
As of Saturday, the number of daily coronavirus deaths in New York state dropped under 550, the lowest number since April 1, as hospitalisations continue to decline.
But the crisis is far from over — hospitals are still reporting nearly 2,000 new COVID-19 patients per day, and Mayor Bill de Blasio said the temptation for cooped-up New Yorkers to take advantage of the spring weather presents new challenges to keep the outbreak in check.
Police and park officers will be out in force to break up outdoor gatherings that pose a risk, with violators facing potential fines of up to $1,000, the Mayor said. The city is encouraging people to text authorities photos when they spot the gatherings.
"We do not want to see this disease boomerang," Mr de Blasio said.
"We do not want to see it come back with a vengeance."
'Grotesque': Gove slams report that attacked Boris Johnson
Britain's cabinet secretary Michael Gove has admitted that Prime Minister Boris Johnson missed five of the Government's top level emergency planning meetings as the coronavirus pandemic was taking hold.
But he insisted that Mr Johnson's attendance was not expected, and he'd been fully briefed.
The Sunday Times newspaper reported Mr Johnson had skipped the five crisis meetings and suggested the Prime Minister didn't take the outbreak seriously in the early stages of the outbreak.
Mr Gove described the story as "grotesque", adding it had taken facts out of context.
"The Prime Minister took all the major decisions. Nobody can say that the Prime Minister wasn't throwing heart and soul into fighting this virus," Mr Gove said, adding that the story overall was "slightly off-beam".
Jonathan Ashworth, a Labour MP, said this comment was "possibly the weakest rebuttal of a detailed expose in British political history".
The latest data show 16,060 people have died in British hospitals after testing positive for the novel coronavirus.
The past 24 hours marked the smallest increase in nearly two weeks, but prior to that the total had increased by more than 800 for three days running.
A further 2,500 had died in care homes during the week to April 13, according to the National Care Forum, a representative body for the adult social care sector.
"One of the things that is deeply worrying and concerning is the high level of deaths," Mr Gove said.
"The evidence suggests that the rate of infection and the death rate is flattening, but we're not absolutely certain that we are yet on a downward trajectory."
Stay up-to-date on the coronavirus outbreak
Broadway actor's leg amputated due to COVID-19
Tony Award-nominated actor Nick Cordero has had his right leg amputated after suffering complications from coronavirus, his wife says.
Amanda Kloots wrote on Instagram late Saturday (local time) that Cordero "made it out of surgery alive and is headed to his room to rest and recover".
Cordero had been treated with blood thinners to help with clotting in his leg, but his doctors had to stop the treatment because it was causing internal bleeding.
"We took him off blood thinners but that again was going to cause some clotting in the right leg, so the right leg will be amputated today," she said earlier Saturday.
Cordero entered intensive care in Los Angeles on March 31 and has been on a ventilator and unconscious after contracting COVID-19.
His wife has been sending him daily videos of her and their 10-month-old son, Elvis, so he could see them when he woke up, and urging friends and fans to join a daily sing-a-long.
Cordero played a mob soldier with a flair for the dramatic in 2014 in Broadway's Woody Allen 1994 film adaptation of Bullets Over Broadway, for which he received a Tony nomination for best featured actor in a musical.
What the experts are saying about coronavirus:
Pakistan preacher accused of breaking ban
Police in Pakistan have registered a fresh case against a leading cleric for breaking the Government's coronavirus ban on congregational prayers at mosques.
Abdul Aziz, a radical preacher at the Red Mosque in Islamabad, is accused of civil disobedience and an act likely to spread a dangerous infectious disease.
He's publicly defied the Government's current ban on prayer gatherings of more than five people.
Even as Pakistan's daily confirmed cases approached 8,000, Prime Minister Imran Khan's government buckled to pressure from religious clerics refusing to order mosques throughout the country to be closed during Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.
It comes as Saudi Arabia's top religious authority recommended home prayers in Ramadan due to coronavirus.
The Council of Senior Scholars, urged Muslims worldwide to pray at home during Ramadan if their countries require social distancing to combat coronavirus, state news agency SPA reported.
"Muslims shall avoid gatherings, because they are the main cause of the spread of infection … and shall remember that preserving the lives of people is a great act that brings them closer to God," it said in a statement.
Your questions on coronavirus answered:
'The situation is under full control': Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin said authorities there have coronavirus crisis under full control and that everything would work out with God's help, even as the country on Sunday (local time) registered a record daily rise in cases of the new virus.
Russia reported 6,060 new cases in the previous 24 hours, bringing its nationwide tally to 42,853, though the official death toll of 361 remains relatively low compared with other countries with a similar number of cases.
In a video message to congratulate Christians on the Orthodox Easter, Mr Putin said the religious festival would strengthen Russians' hope and faith because the resurrection of Christ was a powerful symbol of rebirth and a reminder that life goes on.
"All levels of power are working in an organised, responsible and timely way," said Mr Putin, who was flanked by painted Easter eggs, a traditional Orthodox Kulich sweet bread, and a big pot of tea.
"The situation is under full control. All of our society is united in front of the common threat."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying there was hope that signs might start appearing next week that the number of cases, which has risen relentlessly, might begin to plateau.
ABC/Wires
What you need to know about coronavirus:
Topics: infectious-diseases-other, respiratory-diseases, covid-19, china, united-states
First posted